


Marmalade Skies

by xhaltsalute



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic), The Phantom Stallion Series - Terri Farley
Genre: College, Hockey, Horses, Samwell Equestrian Team
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-20 12:09:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17022351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xhaltsalute/pseuds/xhaltsalute
Summary: Lydia Ely and her horse head from northern Nevada to Samwell University where they'll compete for the equestrian team.





	1. Chapter 1

“Don’t scratch anything!” Lydia cautioned her brothers as they struggled to carry her new dresser into the dorm room. Lydia missed her dresser back home. It had been Mom’s childhood dresser and Grandpa had repainted it for Lydia to have when Mom found out she was pregnant. She had wanted to bring it to college with her, but getting it from Nevada to Massachusetts would be too complicated. Hence the reason for a new dresser. Lydia’s twin brothers set the dresser down near the foot of her bed before turning towards her. 

“Is this good enough or did you want it somewhere else?” Carter asked with far more patience than usual. 

“I think that should work for now. I can get someone to help me adjust it if I want it moved later. Thanks, guys.” Despite how annoying Carter and Caleb could be, Lydia was going to miss these guys. Growing up on a ranch in rural Nevada meant not having many friends. And although they argued like crazy, Lydia’s brothers were her closest friends. Aside from Nellie. If a man’s best friend is a dog, then a horse is definitely a girl’s best friend. Nellie was the reason Lydia was all the way across the country at Samwell University in Massachusetts, and for that Lydia could never repay her. Every extra dime spent on show fees and vet bills and special supplements was worth it. Lydia couldn’t believe she was getting the opportunity to learn at this amazing school while her horse was just across campus. 

“Lydia, honey? Where would you like these boxes?” Lydia turned at the sound of her mom’s voice to see her parents entering the dorm room, both carrying boxes.

“On the floor or the bed is fine for now. Once everything is in here I’ll figure out where to put everything. Just try to keep everything on this side. I don’t know when my roommate will be here.” Lydia looked at the bed across from her own and wondered for the millionth time what her roommate would be like. Would they be friends? Acquaintances? Or not get along at all? Over the summer Lydia ad received a packet with her room key and information about the dorms. It had included Her roommate’s name, Victoria Bittle-Zimmermann, and an email. Lydia hadn’t known what to say so she never emailed Victoria, and she had never heard from Victoria either. So she had no idea what to expect. 

Lydia had tried to look for Victoria on social media, but the only accounts she saw that might belong to Victoria were private. Lydia was nervous at the thought of meeting the person she would be sharing a room with for the next nine months, but luckily there was a lot of unpacking to do to keep her mind busy. 

After all of the boxes and suitcases had been brought in from the rental car Lydia noticed her parents share a look. It was a look Lydia had seen countless times and it meant her parents were having an entire conversation without words. Lydia’s parents had a love story that would make even Disney say, “Now that’s a bit unrealistic.” As Lydia had gotten older she realized that there was no other couple out there that suited each other as perfectly as her parents did. While she was grateful for the example her parents had set for her, a part of her didn’t like it since she knew it was highly unlikely she would ever find a love like the one her parents had. 

“Boys, let’s go to the cafeteria,” Dad said, and the twins bounded off at the first mention of food. 

“Oh I’m hungry too, why don’t we all go?” Lydia asked, noticing just for the first time that day just how hungry she was. 

“How about I bring you back something. Does pizza sound good?” Dad asked, and after Lydia nodded her head yes he turned to Mom. “Brat? Want anything?”

“Maybe some orange juice if you see any,” Mom replied, and Dad nodded at them before exiting the room. 

“How are you feeling, Lydia?” Mom questioned as she took the lid off of one of the boxes and began pulling the clothes out. She then unfolded them before laying them on the bed. “It’s a long way from home.”

“That’s for sure,” Lydia responded as she found the box with the hangers and started to hang up her clothes on one side of the closet. “But I’ll have Nellie. She’s supposed to get in tomorrow. And once school starts up I’m sure I’ll be busy with my classes.” 

“Try not to get too busy though,” Mom said. “College is a time to experience new things. Dad and I are so proud of how hard you work, with both your riding and schoolwork. We know you won’t have any problems staying on top of it all. But don’t be afraid to take some time to make friends and explore a little. It’ll be different going from spending the majority of your time with your family and doing independent study to literally living at school. Not that we’re worried about you adjusting. Of course, you’ll manage to fit right in.”

“Mom. I’m going to be okay,” Lydia said with a smile and paused in the middle of putting her light blue Kastel riding shirt on a hanger to give her mom a hug. Mom always started babbling when she got emotional. “Of course I’ll miss you guys. Even the twins a little bit. But I’m really excited about being here. It’ll be good for me to be around people who have no idea there’s more than one type of horse.” 

Mom laughed a little at this and pulled back from their hug to look at Lydia. “Oh thank goodness you got your father’s hair,” she said with another laugh. “All this activity and not a hair out of place, not to mention the humidity out here. Did I ever tell you about the time he told me my hair made me look like a chrysanthemum? That man sure has a way with words.”

“What?” Lydia exclaimed and burst out laughing. “Oh, Dad. And I can totally see him saying something like that too. Randomly pointing it out in the middle of a conversation.”

Lydia and Mom were still laughing when Lydia heard a girl’s voice call out, “Daddy? Where are you going?” Then a pause before, “I said two-FIFTEEN, not two-FIFTY. This is it.” 

Two-fifteen was the number of Lydia’s dorm. “That must be Victoria,” Lydia said just as the door opened. 

“Hello!” Victoria called out as she came into the room and saw Mom and Lydia. Victoria was tall, much taller than Lydia, but a wiry, athletic build, much like Lydia did. Lydia had been graced with Dad’s healthy bronze skin and high cheekbones, and as Mom had just said her hair was similar in texture to Dad’s. But her hair had a reddish tint to it, unlike her Dad’s crow’s wing black hair. Lydia also got Mom’s height or lack thereof. She was slightly taller than her mom at 5’3 and was used to being towered over by Dad and the twins who were all over 6 feet. 

Victoria was probably a little less than 6 feet, maybe 5’10? Her skin was a few shades darker than Lydia’s and she was clearly of African-American descent. “Are you Lydia?” Victoria asked, holding her hand out to shake. 

“That’s me!” Lydia replied. “And you’re Victoria?” 

“Yep. Although no one calls me that, unless I’m in trouble,” Victoria laughed. “Everyone just calls me Cap.” 

“Cap?” Lydia asked. “How did you get that name?”

“Oh, you know, my dads. They were both the captains of the Samwell hockey team at one point, and Pops went on to be a captain in the NHL. So as a joke their friends call them Captain Bitty and Captain Jack or Zimms or whatever nickname they’re trying out that week. When I was little I thought everyone’s name had captain in front of it, so I wanted to be Captain Victoria. That eventually got shortened to Cap, and it’s been Cap ever since.” 

“Well, It’s very nice to meet you, Cap,” Lydia said as they shook hands. 

“You haven’t talked off your roommate’s ear yet, have you, Sweetpea?” A blond man said with a southern drawl as he entered the room. “Hey y’all, I’m Bitty, and Jack is just behind me,” Cap’s dad said with a warm smile. “I made a few pies for you guys to share! Lord knows what they’re serving in the cafeteria these days.” 

“Thank you so much,” Lydia said as she took the box Bitty offered her. “These look delicious!” she added as she peered into the box and saw it was filled to the brim with pies. 

“How much pie do you think we’ll eat, Dad?” Cap said then turned to Lydia and said, “Daddy spends about 90% of his time making pies. He makes pie when he's happy, sad, stressed, excited, any occasion results with pie.” 

“Did I hear pie?” A voice added from the doorway as a tall, handsome man with dark hair and ice blue eyes came into the room. 

“I’m Jack. It’s nice to meet you,” the man said as he too shook hands with Lydia and Mom. 

“I’m Sam and this is Lydia,” Mom said with a smile. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we should go find the rest of our family and leave you to get situated. It was wonderful meeting you all! And Bitty, was it? Those pies look fantastic. I’ll need to get your recipe for cherry pie. I can never get mine just right.”

“Cherry pie is my specialty!” Bitty said happily. “I’ll be happy to talk recipes with you. Is the crust too dry? I used to have that problem.” 

“That would be wonderful! ” Mom replied. “And I seem to have the crust down, but I can never get a consistent taste from the filling. It’s always too sour or too sweet. I’ve tried altering the recipe in any way I can.”

Cap leaned towards Lydia and faux whispered, “Get out while you can. Daddy can go on until the end of time about pie recipes.” 

Everyone laughed and Lydia called, “We’ll see you guys later! Good luck unpacking,” as she and Mom headed for the door. 

“Cap seems really nice,” Mom said as they walked down the hallway towards the cafeteria. “I think you two will get along well.”

“Yeah! And I’m sure she knows everything about Samwell since her dads both went here. Do you think this is where they met?”

“I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough,” Mom said as they entered the cafeteria. They quickly spotted Dad and the twins sitting at a table but the windows on the western wall. Lydia couldn’t wait to watch the sunsets during dinner out of these very same windows. 

“We’ve met the roommate,” Mom reported as she sat down in the vacant chair next to Dad and took the bottle of orange juice he handed to her. “She seems like a lovely girl and her dads were incredibly nice as well. She mentioned her one dad played in the NHL. I wonder if you know who he is,” she said to Caleb, who was a huge sports fan. 

Or rather, he was a sports statistics fan. No one wanted him in their fantasy league anymore since he won every single season. It didn’t matter what sport it was. If data could be collected, he had it all memorized and could tell you who was going to win. 

“Oh?” Caleb asked. “What’s his name?”

“Jack,” Lydia said as she pulled a chair from the empty table next to theirs and put it at the end of their table. Their last name is Bittle-Zimmermann. 

Caleb froze with his fork piled high with too much spaghetti halfway to his mouth. “Did you say Bittle-Zimmermann? As in Jack Zimmermann? Son of Bad Bob Zimmermann?” 

“Bad Bob Zimmermann? What are you talking about?” Lydia asked, taking a bite of her cheese pizza. The pizza was amazing. She’d have to be careful not to eat too much of it, especially when show season started.

“The Zimmermanns! Only one of the greatest hockey family’s to ever play the sport!” Caleb exclaimed. “I know Jack and his husband have a son about a year younger than us. Nathan. He’s playing in juniors right now and everyone’s watching to see if he’ll be as good as his dad and grandfather. Wait, so does this mean you’re roommate is Jack Zimmermann’s daughter?” 

“Yep,” Lydia replied, still eating her pizza. Being roommates with the daughter of hockey royalty was cool and all, but right now, this pizza was cooler. 

“That’s awesome! Caleb said excitedly. “Can we go meet them?” 

“No,” Mom responded. “We are going to let them get settled in without you two being underfoot. I’m sure you will have a chance to meet them at some point. And when you do, try not to be too overwhelming.” 

“Aw c’mon Ma, what does that even mean?” Caleb asked.

“You know what I mean. No spouting out sports stats no knows exist except for you.”

“Everyone knows about sports stats, Brat. You’re just bad with numbers,” Dad said with a grin.

“Jake Ely! I am the mother of your children! Show some respect!” Mom spluttered while everyone laughed. 

It was a well-known fact that Mom was bad at math. Lydia and Caleb had Dad’s rational, scientific brain. They were both pragmatic and realistic as well as being incredibly determined to reach their goals. They excelled in math and science but did far better following a set of instructions than they did when told to be creative. Carter, on the other hand, was more like Mom. He could tell the best stories and painted the most lifelike images Lydia had ever seen. Although Carter could be as annoying as any brother, he was much shyer in the company of strangers than his siblings were. 

Lydia looked around the table at her family and her laughter died as felt a wave of sadness wash over her. She was going to miss her family. Even though she’d be home to visit and she was certain she’d be calling Mom on a regular basis, it wouldn’t be the same. She’d have a whole other life here at Samwell that her family wouldn’t be a part of. 

“Lydia? You alright?” Dad would never be the most talkative guy around, but he always knew anyone in his family was even the slightest bit upset. 

“Yeah Dad, I’m good,” Lydia replied with a smile. “I’m just gonna miss you guys.”

“Yeah, no more chores, you won’t have to share the tv, you’ll have all these options for every meal, yeah you’re gonna be begging to come home,” Caleb said with a grin before adding, “not to mention you’ll be so busy with your classes and Nellie you’ll probably forget we exist by next week!”

“I would never!” Lydia replied with a laugh. Caleb always knew how to lighten the mood. 

“You know we’re gonna miss you like crazy, honey,” Mom said before glancing down at her watch. “And speaking of missing you, we probably should get going. We need to be at the airport in two hours and it’ll take about an hour to drive there.”

Their chairs scraped along the floor as the Elys’ all stood and gathered their dishes. They put their dishes on the conveyor belt that would take them back to the dish pit to get cleaned then exited the cafeteria. 

“Do you know where the stables are?” Carter asked Lydia as they began to walk back towards her dorm room. 

“Yeah, over there,” Lydia gestured towards the eastern side of the campus. “There’s a bike path that goes all through campus and it goes right by the stables. So it’s about a twenty-minute walk from here.” 

“It should be a nice walk,” Carter added, looking around at the trees that lined the river they were walking along. 

“I know! I can’t wait for all of the leaves to change colors. Autumn on the East Coast is supposed to be gorgeous!” Lydia said excitedly. 

“Do you think you need any more help setting in?” Mom asked from where she was walking with Dad behind Lydia and her brothers. 

“I might need help moving some things around. I want to see how everything looks with Cap’s stuff also in the room,” Lydia responded.

“Do you think Jack Zimmermann is still there? Will I get to meet him? Oh wow, this is insane!” Caleb said excitedly as he bounded up the stairs ahead of the rest of his family. 

“Please don’t embarrass me in front of my new roommate,” Lydia pleaded. 

“How little you think of me,” Caleb grinned broadly before practically skipping down the hallway when he saw the door to Lydia’s dorm room was open.

“Oh dear god please no,” Lydia muttered under her breath as she raced after her brother. 

“Jack Zimmermann! It is an absolute honor to meet you,” Lydia could hear. She entered her room as Caleb was saying, “That top shelf goal you scored against Vancouver on November 16, 2023, was stunning. Took my breath away. And that goalie interference called on you against Pittsburgh on March 22, 2027? Completely wrong. It still keeps me up at night.” 

“I am so sorry,” Lydia exclaimed as she entered the room seeing Jack and Bitty staring at Caleb. ‘This is my brother, Caleb. He’s kind of the biggest sports fan ever.”

“No dear, don’t even think of apologizing,” Bitty told her before turning back to Caleb. “I know exactly what you’re talking about. That goalie interference call keeps me up at night too. I was so mad at that ref. Anyone and everyone should know that Jack would never intentionally interfere with a goalie. Isn’t that right sweetheart?” Bitty smiled up at his husband.

“Uh…” Jake looked at a loss for words. “I’m going to help Cap finish unloading the car. But thank you. I’m glad you think I’m good at hockey.” Then he swiftly left the room.

“Don’t worry about him. It’s been a while since he’s met a fan as enthusiastic as you. It can overwhelm him. His brain just needs to reprogram. Now, Caleb was it? Tell me, what did you think of that wraparound goal Jack scored on Carter Hart in February of 2024?”

“You mean the overtime game winner? When Jack was on a breakaway after that pass from Tater? Perfection. Hockey doesn’t get better than that!” Caleb replied.

There was a knock on the open door and the three of them turned to see Mom standing there looking concerned. “I saw Jack rushing down the hallway. Please don’t tell me you were rude, Caleb.” 

“Not at all!” Bitty told her. “Your son is delightful. Jack just needs a second to process other people’s emotions.” 

“That’s very kind of you to say,” Mom replied, “but Caleb, you really must try to think before you speak to people. Especially people who don’t know you.”

“I know, I’m sorry, Mom. I was just excited.” Caleb responded. 

Dad and Carter then entered the room, with Cap and Jack just behind them each carrying a box. 

“This is the last of my things,” Cap said as they each set the box they were carrying on her bed.

As introductions were made all around, Lydia looked around the room. She knew exactly where on the wall she wanted to hang up her posters and pictures. The room was small, as dorm rooms tend to be, but once everything was in its place it should look cute. Lydia could see Cap’s bedding and decorations were mostly shades of blue. Lydia tended to go for dark brown and cream colors when she was decorating, so she figured Cap’s blue decorations would fit in nicely. 

“Well Lydia, I think it’s time to say goodbye,” Mom said, pulling Lydia out of her thoughts and back into the conversation. 

“Okay, I’ll walk with you guys down to the car,” Lydia said, stepping towards the door. 

“Cap, it was lovely to meet you. Good luck this semester,” Mom said before she turned towards Jack and Bitty. “Jack, I’m sorry again for Caleb. He should know better.” This was said with a stern look towards Caleb. “And Bitty, we’ll be in touch! I must get that cherry pie recipe.” 

“Of course!” Bitty leaned over to give Mom a hug. “It was great meeting you all. I hope you have a safe trip home.” 

Dad shook hands with Jack and Bitty before everyone said goodbye and the Elys left the dorm room. 

“Cap seems like she’ll be a nice roommate. I think you lucked out there,” Carter told Lydia as they exited the building and started across the parking lot. 

“Yeah,” Lydia agreed. “Even if we don’t become the best of friends I think we’ll get along well as roommates.” 

They reached the rental car and Mom turned towards Lydia with her arms open. “I’m sure I’ll talk to you tomorrow, but I’m gonna miss you, honey.” 

“I’ll miss you too, Mom,” Lydia said, feeling a lump rise in her throat. She pulled back with a sigh and smiled at her mom before turning to give Dad a hug. 

“We’re already so proud of you,” Dad said as he patted her back. “You call if you need anything at all though, okay?”

“Got it,” Lydia replied, then turned to her brothers. “I’ll miss you guys,” she said as she hugged them, “but don’t go in my room or touch my stuff.” 

“No promises,” Caleb said with a laugh before they all climbed into the car. They waved to Lydia as they drove out of the parking lot, and Lydia watched until the car drove down the street and turned onto the highway.

Lydia fought back tears as she headed to her dorm. It made no sense to cry. She was excited to be here, and she’d be talking to them on the phone tomorrow. But she couldn’t help but feel truly alone for the first time in her life. At least she would be busy setting up her room, and Nellie would be here tomorrow. 

When Lydia got back to her dorm, Cap was nowhere to be seen, and she was clearly still in the process of putting everything away. Lydia looked around at her own boxes scattered on her bed and the floor. She decided to make her bed before unpacking everything. She opened up the brand new bedding set Grandma Max had bought for her. Lydia stretched the dark brown sheets across the mattress before spreading out the brown and cream striped comforter on top. She then set her pillows up before turning towards the rest of the boxes.

She picked one at random and opened it, seeing ribbons and posters she had wanted to hang on her wall. 

She pulled out some Command strips and went to work. Lydia first hung up a thin wire hire up along the wall just below the ceiling. She then started to put up her ribbons, hanging them up in descending order based on rankings. Her blue first place ribbons went up in the corner above her bed, and the two sixth-place green ribbons she had were the closest to the door. 

“Wow, those look so cool!” Cap exclaimed as she entered the room. “You must be pretty good to have won all those ribbons.”

“Not really, I just compete a lot,” Lydia laughed. “A lot of work was put in for these 50 cent ribbons. Sometimes, they give you a saddle pad or a brush for your horse when you win in addition to your ribbon.” 

“At least they make for good decorations,” Cap replied.

“There is that,” Lydia agreed as she reached into the box and pulled out the three posters she wanted to hang on the wall. The first one was a poster-sized picture Mom had taken of her and Nellie flying over a 1.20m oxer at Thermal that year. As she hung the picture up she heard Cap ask, “You’re a Bruins fan?” 

Lydia turned to see Cap studying the picture. “Bruins? What are Bruins?” Lydia asked, wondering why Cap was staring at her in disbelief.

“You’ve seriously never heard of the Boston Bruins? That’s their team logo right there,” Cap pointed to the black and yellow ‘B’ painted onto the standard of the jump.

“Oh! You mean Mr. Jacobs’ team? No, I’m not a fan of the team. I don’t really watch sports. But I’ve met Mr. Jacobs a couple times. Or mostly I’ve just seen him from a distance at horse shows. I’ve only been introduced to him once when he presented the award of a class I won.”

“I don’t even know where to begin,” Cap said. “But it sounds fascinating. You need to teach me about the horse world. I don’t know anything about them except for they're big and they make weird noises. Plus they stink. No offense.” 

“None taken,” Lydia grinned as she plopped down on her freshly made bed. “You eventually get used to the smell. Or so I’ve heard. I grew up around cattle so the smell never bothered me.”

“I get that,” Cap responded. “I grew up in locker rooms and let me tell you, the smell of guys who exercise for a living is not a pleasant one. But after a while, you don’t really think about it. It’s just a part of the sport.” 

“That must have been cool, growing up around all of those great athletes. I’m sure my brother is incredibly jealous. I can’t imagine how many hockey games you’ve gone to in your life!”

“Oh god, too many to count! Some of them are incredible to watch like the Olympics or NHL playoff games. But others, like my little brother’s games when he was super little, have taken hours off of my life. They don’t even play hockey at that age! Just stumble around the ice and occasionally weave at their families!” Cap said with a laugh. “I need to teach you about hockey. I thought it’d be nice, living with someone who doesn’t know who my dads are. But I’ve never been friends with someone who doesn’t at least know who the most recent Stanley Cup winner is. And that is a horrifying thought.” 

“Ugh, you sound just like my brother! Lydia groaned. “Caleb knows everything there is to know about sports. He loves anything with numbers, so he’s insanely good at fantasy football, fantasy hockey, fantasy anything. None of his friends will let him play in their fantasy leagues anymore because he just wins all the time. He doesn’t know much about the players’ personal lives and he doesn’t follow any specific teams, but he could tell you any stat about any player. I guess that’s why I never got into sports. Caleb made it seem like one giant math problem. But the few times I’ve seen hockey it does look like fun. Much faster than other sports.”

“It’s far more fun to watch than it is to play,” Cap told Lydia. “I played for a few years when I was young, but then in sixth grade, my school’s volleyball team asked if I would join them since I had the height. Once I started volleyball I fell in love and never looked back. But I still love going to hockey games. If we’re gonna be friends you at least know that the last team to win the Cup is the LA Kings. But my best friend Heather, Heather Chow, she’s moving in tomorrow, don’t mention the Kings around her. Her dad played for the Sharks and every single member of her family is a diehard Sharks fans. So they’re all a slightly more bitter than usual about the Kings at the moment.”

 

“Then I’m guessing the Sharks and Kings have a rivalry?” Lydia asked.

“Huge,” Cap nodded sagely.

“We’ll have to go to a Samwell hockey game so you can explain everything to me,” Lydia said.

“Definitely! The team is supposed to be really good this year. And I have to meet your horse. Is that her?” Cap gestured towards the picture Lydia had just finished putting up. When Lydia nodded Cap went on, “She gorgeous! I love the white part on her face that makes the exclamation point.”

“My brother Carter says it makes it look like she’s always excited about something. Which is pretty accurate. She has a ton of energy.” Lydia glanced at the time on her phone. “I can’t believe it’s only 8:30. It feels so much later! Probably the time change. I better get the rest of this put away before I go to be.” 

“Same here,” Cap replied. “I’ll probably just put my clothes away and do the decorations later.”

An hour and a half later Lydia was hanging up her last shirt before she grabbed her shower caddy and headed to the bathroom. She quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth before going back to her room to get changed. 

“G’night,” she said to Cap as she crawled into bed and turned her light out. Her last thought before she fell asleep was that Nellie would be here in less than 12 hours. Lydia couldn’t wait.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, of course, do not own Check Please, the Phantom Stallion or any of those characters. Along with those characters, there will be real athletes mentioned in this fic, of both the human and equine variety. This chapter is mostly about the horses and the show jumping world, so if you don't know much about that it could be confusing or boring.

The next morning Lydia woke up to see the sun peeking through the blue curtains on the opposite side of the dorm room. She rolled over and checked her phone to see that it was already 7:36 am. Lydia usually woke up between 5:30 and 6:00 every day at home to start her chore or get in a run beforehand if it wasn’t too cold. But the time change and busy day she had had the day before must have caused her to sleep later.

Nellie was supposed to be arriving at the equestrian facility around 11:00 that morning, so Lydia figured she had enough time to get a workout in before eating breakfast and heading over to the stables. 

Lydia could see Cap still sound asleep under her covers so she quietly gathered her clothes and toiletries before headed down to the bathroom. 

Seeing as she didn’t know the campus very well yet, she didn’t want to risk getting lost and taking too long on her run. So instead she headed to the gym on campus with the idea of going on the treadmill before doing some squats with weights. 

It was just after 8:00 in the morning on a Sunday, so the gym was deserted except for Lydia and a loud group of guys by the squat racks who all had on red shirts with Samwell Hockey printed on the front. Lydia wondered if Cap knew any of them. 

Lydia put her headphones on and went to her favorite workout playlist before increasing the incline and speed on the treadmill. Given that the treadmill was facing a mirror, Lydia could see the hockey team lifting weights behind her. She couldn’t help noticing that more than one of them were fairly attractive. 

Lydia had never had the time for a relationship, or the means to meet very many people. She dedicated all of her time to Nellie, her schoolwork, and the ranch. There just wasn’t room for anyone else if she wanted to be successful. Despite what Mom had encouraged, Lydia knew the majority of her time would be spent in the library or at the barn. She turned her gaze forward and turned up the volume to “Backseat Freestyle”. 

At 9:30 Lydia was drinking a protein shake and heading back to her dorm to quickly shower and change before heading across campus to the barn. 

As Lydia entered her dorm room she saw Cap standing in front of her side of the closet flipping through shirts. 

“Hey! You’re up early!” Cap greeted with a grin when she saw Lydia.

“Yeah, I’m used to it, having grown up on a ranch and all,” Lydia replied as she dug through her drawer to find the pair of jeans she wanted. 

“I was just about to text you and see if you wanted to get breakfast, but it looks like you already did,” Cap said, nodding towards the protein shake Lydia had set on her dresser.

“I’d love to but I have to get over to the barn to get everything ready for Nellie. Wanna grab dinner later?” Lydia asked.

“Sounds like a plan!” Cap replied. “And Heather will be here by then so I’ll see if she wants to join us and you guys can meet.”

“Can’t wait!” Lydia said then quickly checked the time on her phone and groaned. “Ugh, I better get over to the stables. I had planned on getting there around 10:00 and it’ll probably take me 20 minutes to walk over.”

“I’ll let you go then,” Cap said as she gathered her shower caddy and a change of clothes. “I’ll see you later! Have fun with your horse!” she called out as she left the room for the communal bathroom across the hall. 

Lydia felt gross after her workout but knew she would just get dirty again at the barn so she decided to wait to show until she got back. She threw on an old t-shirt along with her jeans and cowboys boots before grabbing her protein shake heading out the door. As she exited the dorm building she drained the shake and tossed the empty cup in a nearby trash can. 

As Lydia made her way across campus, she may not know where the majority of the buildings were but she made sure she knew how to get the stables, she couldn’t help the excited feeling bubbling up inside her. Nellie was her best friend. She could get through anything as long she had her horse.

Her mare was never supposed to be a prize-winning jumper. Lydia’s parents ran a cattle ranch. Their horses were ranch horses. They sorted cattle and carried ranch hands across the range to check the livestock and fix fences. They lived in one giant pasture and all ate the same hay. They did not have supplements and special feed and blankets for every type of weather. But Nellie did. 

Nellie is the daughter of Hoku, the mustang who belong to Mama’s friend Darby in Hawaii. During a storm, the fence surrounding the pasture where Hoku lived was destroyed and she got away. Hoku made it home safely the next day, but a couple weeks later they found out she was in foal. About a year later when Lydia was ten, Mom, Dad, and Lydia had made the trip to Hawaii to visit Uncle Kit, Aunt Cricket and their new baby, Garrett. Carter and Caleb had stayed Uncle Quinn and Aunt Sara. Hoku had just had her foal the month earlier. It was love at first sight for Lydia and the little chestnut filly. Darby had named the filly, Nalani, a Hawaiian name meaning the heavens. Nalani had a marking in the shape of an exclamation point running down her face, and Lydia knew she had to have her. After much groveling, Mom and Dad agreed to have the filly shipped to Nevada once she was weaned from her mother and ready for a new home. 

Nalani quickly proved she would never live up to her regal name. She was constantly rolling in the mud and was too smart for her own good. Anything could jump out at her and she didn’t bat an eye. But walking past the same tree she’d seen every day for the majority of her life? Forget it. And anything to do with cattle was a disaster. Nalani either wanted to be friends with the cows or she ran away from them. No in between. 

When Lydia’s two-year-old cousin Hunter could only say Nellie instead of Nalani, Nellie stuck. Lydia was worried about what would become of sweet Nellie when it was becoming more and more evident with each passing day that she would never be a ranch horse. Then one morning as a two-year-old, Nellie showed up on the front porch. The gate to the pasture was still latched and the fence surrounding the field was completely secure. The only way Nellie could have gotten out was if she had jumped. After Nellie showed up on the front porch again the following week, Dad set up a camera in one of the trees in the field so they could catch Nellie in the act. The third time Nellie got out Dad and the ranch hands had been riding in off the range. Dad later told Lydia that Nellie had been grazing peacefully when she looked up to see the other horses entering the ranch yard. She called out a greeting before galloping towards the fence and cleared it easily. 

Lydia found the footage of Nellie jumping the fence and had taken it over to their neighbor and family friend, Ryan Slocum. Ryan knew all about jumpers. “She’s a natural,” Ryan had said. “See the way she tucks her knees? And she doesn’t over jump the fence. She knows where the top is. With some training, you could go far with that horse.” Lydia began to take jumping lessons from Ryan. She wanted to learn as much as possible so that when it came time for Nellie to carry a rider over jumps, Lydia would already know what to do. 

By the time Nellie was six, she and Lydia had made a name for themselves on the West Coast circuit. They’ve competed at HITS Thermal for the past couple of years and were planning to head down to Florida this year for WEF during winter break from Samwell. A scout from the Samwell Equestrian Team had seen Lydia compete at Thermal in the spring of Lydia’s junior year of high school. They had told Lydia they wanted her on the team and offered her a scholarship. Mom and Lydia had flown out that summer and Lydia had fallen in love with the campus. She also loved the team and the trainers at Samwell Equestrian and was impressed with the facilities. She knew it was the best decision to make for continuing both her riding and Nellie’s training. 

No one would have expected a rancher’s daughter to become a champion in the show ring, but here she was. Mom and Dad didn’t totally understand show jumping. It was an expensive sport that wealthy people spent an obscene amount of money on. In any other circumstance, Lydia would never be jumping. But Ryan was her trainer and he had the proper facility to train a jumper. And Nellie had all the talent in the world. As long as Lydia kept up with her schoolwork and her chores at home, Mom and Dad fully supported her and Nellie. 

Dad still shook his head whenever he saw Nellie’s corner of the tack room with all her special brushes and feed and supplements and the never-ending spray bottles of fly spray, Show Sheen, Sore No More, rubbing alcohol, and leave in conditioner. Not to mention her tack trunks full of fly sheets, coolers (both fleece and honeycomb), three-quarter sheets, stable blankets, and waterproof blankets. Nellie had more supplies that were hers alone than all the other horses on the ranch combined did. 

But the whole family had a soft spot for Nellie. While she may be a nutcase under saddle, she had the best ground manners of any horse Lydia had ever met. Nellie was always in a good mood and loved any and all attention. 

“Three, two, one! You left out a stride there! Did you feel it? Next time try to hold him for a deeper distance.” Lydia was shaken out of her thoughts at the sound of a voice coming from the arena up ahead. She could see a horse and rider going around a course while two other riders sat on their horses waiting their turn. 

When Lydia got closer she paused to watch the rider finish her course before heading into the barn. She couldn’t tell if those riders were on the University team or if they were from the nearby high school Samwell shared the facilities with. 

Lydia wandered down the barn aisle until she found the stall with “Nalani” on the nameplate. Nellie’s main tack trunk was already in front of the stall, and her secondary tack trunk would be traveling with her. 

“Lydia?” 

Lydia turned to see the assistant trainer, Tracey Stillman, walking towards her. 

“Hi Tracey,” Lydia greeted her. “Nellie is supposed to get here at 11:00 so I thought I’d get here a little early to set everything up.”

“Of course!” Tracey replied. “As you can see, Nellie’s trunk is right here, the grain you ordered is in the feed room, and your tack is hung up in the tack room. I’ll show where that is right now.” 

Tracey led Lydia to a tack room halfway down the barn aisle and pointed towards Lydia’s Antares saddle. The nameplate on the saddle rack read ‘Lydia Ely.’ Lydia was glad to see that the saddle rack was on the lowest rung. There was nothing worse than struggling to get your saddle back onto its rack after every ride. “Here is your saddle, and Nellie’s bridles are right over there under her nameplates. Now if you’ll follow me, I can show you the feed room.” 

Tracey stopped right outside the tack room. “Oh but first let me show you this. It’s the lesson board. You’ll have a meeting with either me or Hannah in a week or so to set up your regular lesson times. All of the times for the week are recorded here.” Tracey walked to the last stall at the end of the aisle. She pulled open the door and said, “This is the feed room. Your horse’s feed should be in this bin right here.” She opened the lid of the bin that had ‘Nalani’ written on it and asked, “Is this the grain you ordered?” 

Lydia peeked inside to see the Smartpak supplements and bran that Nellie ate. “Yep, that’s it. Everything looks great.”

“Perfect!” Tracey replied. “If you could make Nellie’s grain bags, that way the grooms can easily feed her whatever she gets along with her hay.”

“I’ll get right on that,” Lydia replied.  
“I’ll leave you to it then. Holler if you need anything. I’ll be in the office next to the main entrance of the barn.” 

“Sounds great. Thanks for showing me around!” Lydia said and Tracey smiled before heading towards the office. 

About 45 minutes later Lydia had made Nellie’s grain bags for the next week, prepped her stall, and organized her tack trunk. She was now standing in front of the lesson board, studying it mostly to kill time until her horse arrived. 

“Watch it, Cowgirl.” Lydia quickly jumped aside as a tall girl stalked past in spotless Tailored Sportsman breeches and Parlanti boots, her honey-colored hair neatly tucked up into her Samshield helmet. The barn aisle had solid rubber pavers, which was great because the horses wouldn’t slip on them and they were easy to clean. But they were also virtually silent which is why Lydia didn’t hear the approaching girl and horse.

The girl was leading a stunning dapple gray stallion who had near perfect conformation. There was not a speck of dust on the horse nor a hair out of place, and Lydia could only imagine how much a horse like that had cost. 

In fact, Lydia knew exactly how much he had cost. She’d recognize Elliotte Townsend and her latest jumper, Game Boy D10, anywhere. Elliotte’s father, heir to the Townsend estate in New York, had gifted the 2.1 million dollar Belgian Warmblood to his daughter as a high school graduation present. Game Boy and his previous owner/rider, Olivier Philippaerts had been an alternate for the Belgian Olympic Team the year before. The sale had been all over the news in the equestrian world. A lot of people couldn’t believe Olivier would give up such a promising young horse. But everything has its price. And two million dollars could get you a lot. 

Lydia had competed against Elliotte a few times at Thermal, but they had never been officially introduced. Since it was unlikely the girls would be having sleepovers and doing each other's hair anytime soon, officially meeting Elliotte was low on Lydia’s list of things to do. 

Lydia looked down at her favorite pair of cowboy boots she had on before heading out to the front of the stable to sit and wait for the trailer. She found a bench directly in front of the barn facing the driveway and sat down to wait. 

Girls like Elliotte were a dime a dozen in show jumping. They weren’t exactly bullies or mean-spirited; aloof was a better way to describe them. Those girls had been handed almost everything that other people had to work hard for. They had high expectations of the people around them, and no one would ever describe them as patient. 

Lydia jumped up off the bench at the sound of an approaching horse trailer. She grinned when she saw the logo on the side of the truck was of the horse transport company she had hired. 

The truck and trailer came to a halt and a short, stout man jumped down from the cab and pulled the brim of his cowboy hat down. 

“You the owner of the chestnut mare? Nalani?” the man asked. 

“Yes! That’s me. Lydia.” 

“I’m Paul,” the man said as he shook hands and he headed to the back of the trailer. “Your mare’s a good traveler. She’s been quiet, ate most of the hay in her hay net and drank quite a bit of water.”

“Yeah, she’s had a lot of experience with traveling,” Lydia replied. “I can unload her if you want.”

“Suit yourself,” Paul replied as he unlatched the back door to the trailer and lowered the trailer. 

“Hey pretty girl,” Lydia said as she stepped inside the trailer. “How was your trip? Ready to see your new home?” 

Nellie swung her head towards Lydia and let out a piercing neigh when she saw her. She immediately started to paw at the floor of the trailer and Lydia laughed as she untied the lead rope and let Nellie slowly back out of the trailer. “Bet you’re excited to get out of this trailer, huh girl.” 

As soon as Nellie was out of the trailer she froze as she looked around and breathed in deeply. She let out another neigh before giving a whole body shake and started walking towards the barn. Nellie was used to being in new places from competing so much, but she always liked to investigate her new surroundings. 

Lydia led Nellie down the barn aisle to her new stall. Once Nellie was calmly eating the grain that Lydia had placed in the stall, Lydia head back out to the front of the stable to get the equipment Nellie had traveled with.

“Is this the only thing you were expecting?” Paul asked as he unloaded a tack trunk. 

“Yes, that should be it. I can take it from here. Thank you so much for getting my horse here safely.”

“No problem at all. You have a good day, now,” Paul said with a tip of his hat as he climbed back into the cab of the truck. 

Lydia managed to get the heavy tack trunk down to the tack room closest to Nellie’s stall. Luckily the only things inside it were what might be necessary for Nellie to have on her trip across the country. 

It had been a long journey, even for a horse that was used to traveling. Ryan had trailered Nellie to the fairgrounds in Darton. From there she had been picked up by a trailer transporting racehorses and headed down to Los Angeles. Nellie was then put on a flight from LA to Kentucky with several other horses, then trailered to a racetrack in New York. From there the horse transport service Lydia had hired picked Nellie up and brought her to Samwell. 

Lydia had been stressed out at the idea of not being with Nellie during such a long journey, but everyone who had handled Nellie along the way had kept Lydia up to date on her condition. 

Lydia looked in on Nellie to see the mare still calmly eating. She decided to reorganize the tack trunks and make sure she had everything. She looked at the list she had written on her phone of everything she needed.

Since the tack trunk Nellie had traveled with was usually used as a show trunk, Lydia made sure it all the stuff needed at a show. As Lydia started to go through her list she could hear voices from around the corner.

“Did you see that chestnut mare that just came in? She looked really familiar.”

“Yeah, she belongs to that cowgirl who decided to start show jumping. I saw her at Thermal last year. That girl only does as well as she does because of that horse.”

Lydia rolled her eyes and started rolling up the freshly washed polo wraps she had just thrown into the trunk before the trip. She did show jumping because Nellie loved it, plus it was a whole lot of fun. And she was lucky enough to have the opportunity to have competed at the big shows, but she would have been just as happy riding at home. Those big shows were how she got a full ride to Samwell, and she would never be able to repay Nellie for this opportunity.

Lydia knew she wouldn’t have much in common with the other girls on the equestrian team. Most of these girls didn’t need any sort of scholarship or loan to be able to attend Samwell; their parents were able to pay for everything. Lydia didn’t fault them for having been born into a wealthier family than her. She knew that all of her hard work made her appreciate what she had even more. 

The girls continued on, their voices fading, not knowing Lydia had heard their conversation. 

She wasn’t too worried about what they thought. They might be on the same team, but horseback riding wasn’t a team sport the way hockey or football was. They didn’t need to work together or get along. They just needed to have a meeting once a week and occasionally practice together. 

Suddenly realizing how hungry she was, Lydia checked the time on her phone to see it was almost 2:30 and she had skipped lunch. She took one last look around to make all the major stuff was organized before checking on Nellie one last time. 

“Here you go, girl. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lydia said as she dropped two of the oats and molasses horse cookies her dad had made into Nellie’s feed bin. Nellie raised her head at the sound of Lydia’s voice and made her way over to get the cookies. Lydia gave Nellie a kiss on the nose then closed the stall door and headed down the barn aisle. 

As she walked away from the barn and back towards campus, Lydia passed the arena she had seen on her way in. There were poles laid out on the group and a lone horse and rider were working in the arena. As Lydia got closer she could see that the horse and rider were Game Boy and Elliotte. 

Lydia slowed down to watch the pair. Game Boy was one of the top horses in the world and Elliotte had outstanding equitation, but there was clearly tension between the two of them. Lydia watched as they trotted up to four poles laying on the ground. Game Boy tripped over the first pole, which was shocking for a horse who had won the six bar at Antwerpen in Belgium the year before. 

Lydia then watched as a sudden gust of wind swirled around some fallen leaves that had been lying by the arena. Game Boy spooked and bolted at the dancing leaves, and Lydia could see Elliotte struggling to regain control. Elliotte was clearly frustrated with the gray stallion, and Lydia didn’t want to stick around in case Elliotte noticed her, so she kept walking. 

Lydia got back to her dorm hall and headed up the stairs to the second floor where her room was. 

“Hey, Lydia!”

Lydia looked behind her to see Cap coming up the stairs carrying a box.

“You have to meet Heather! I’m helping her move in then we were gonna head to the caf. Wanna join us?” Cap asked.

“Yes, I’m starving!” Lydia replied. They headed down the hallway to room 207 where the door was open. 

“I think this is the last one,” Cap said as she entered. “And this is Lydia, my roommate!”

A trim girl with dark hair and glasses was folding clothes and laying them neatly in piles on her bed. 

“Hey!” she said excitedly. “I’m Heather. Cap was telling me all morning about her awesome roommate, so I’m glad we finally get to meet!” 

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Lydia said as they shook hands. She looked at the space across from Heather’s and saw a collage with pictures of a horse and rider. “Oh my god does your roommate ride? I’m sure Cap’s mentioned this but I’m on the equestrian team. I wonder if your roommate is too.” 

“Wait…” Lydia stepped closer to take a closer look at the horse in the photos. “Is that…”

“Elliotte Townsend. Do you know her?” Heather asked.

“Yeah, she’s one of the best riders in the country. Maybe even the world. But this horse…”

Lydia examined the photos, noticing that they were all of Elliotte and her old horse GPS Brilliant Disguise, famously known as Hugo. The two of them had dominated the junior jumping circuit in Elliotte’s early teenage years. It was on Elliotte’s sixteenth birthday at Thermal when the flea-bitten gray gelding suddenly collapsed in the warm-up ring and was pronounced dead on the spot due to a ruptured aorta. Lydia’s own class had just finished so she was watching Elliotte and her class warm up before their rounds, and had seen it all happen. Elliotte had been completely calm as she held Hugo’s head in her lap as he was unsaddled and multiple vets rushed to help the fallen horse. Hugo had died within minutes of collapsing and Elliotte’s face had been blank of all emotion as she walked out of the arena. Lydia never thought Elliotte cared much about the horse when he was winning, and she certainly didn’t seem upset when he died. Lydia had always assumed Elliotte cared more about the ribbons and titles that came with winning, but Lydia was surprised to see that only a small handful of the pictures were of Elliotte and Hugo in the show ring. Most of the images were artistic shots of Hugo alone or Elliotte next to him on the ground. It was obvious that the horse and rider had been close, and Elliotte valued Hugo as far more than just a machine who won her ribbons. 

“What about the horse?” Lydia was startled out of her thoughts and turned to see Cap and Heather looking at her expectantly. 

“Oh, he’s just one of her old horses. He was super talented. I’m gonna head back to our room to shower and get changed. Then should we go to the caf?” 

“Sounds good!” Heather replied.

“Meet us back here in like, half an hour?” Cap asked, and Lydia nodded before exiting the room.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Forty-five minutes later, the three girls were sitting in the cafeteria. Lydia had piled her tray high with salad, lasagna, several slices of garlic bread, and two double chocolate chip cookies. Too hungry to contribute much to the conversation, she dug into her lasagna and listened as Cap and Heather talked about their summers. 

“We all went up to Montreal for a couple weeks to see Grampa Bob and Grandma Alicia. We thought about going to Georgia, but it just gets way too hot. So we usually just visit my grandparents on Dad’s side in the winter for Christmas, then we see Papa’s parents in the summer,” Cap was saying. 

“One year you’ll have to come out to California for Christmas,” Heather replied. “We always go to Muir Woods then hike to Stinson Beach on Christmas Day.” 

“And that’s what? 20 miles?” Cap asked.

“No, just five,” Heather responded with a laugh.

Cap turned to Lydia and explained, “Heather’s family loves to hike. A majority of the photos on her Instagram are her and her family in some forest. It’s adorable until you’re out there hiking with them. You think, ‘This’ll be nice. Beautiful day, be one with nature and all that.’ But then 2 hours later you’re regretting every choice you ever made that led you to this moment.”

“It’s not that bad,” Heather protested, still giggling. 

“That sounds like my dad and brother, Carter. But they don’t just hike. They run. Have you heard of the Western States 100? It’s literally 100 miles. My dad did it right after he graduated from college, and now Carter really wants to do it. You’re out there for over 24 hours. I like a nice jog as much as anyone, but when the toenails start falling off? No thanks.” 

“Eww!” both Cap and Heather exclaimed. 

“I can handle blood and broken bones, but for some reason nails coming off really freak me out,” Heather said. 

Cap nodded in agreement. “Let’s change the subject. I can’t think about this while we’re eating. Lydia, do you know where you’re classes are? Heather and I were gonna go around campus tomorrow to find our classrooms. Wanna join us?”

“Yes, that’d be great! I meant to do that today but I lost track of time when I was at the barn. Speaking of which, I was planning on heading out there tomorrow morning to check on my horse, so I’ll probably be done there around 11, and I’ll be free after.” 

Finished with their meals, the girls stood and gathered their dishes. 

“How about we get lunch here around noon tomorrow, then find our classes after,” Heather said.

“Works for me,” Cap replied as they headed towards the exit. “I heard they’re showing a movie tonight in the common room. Should we go? I think they’re showing the new Marvel movie.”

“I’m down,” Lydia said.

“Yeah, we might as well,” Heather replied. “Should I see if my roommate wants to join us? She introduced herself when I first got here but then left right after. She seemed kinda quiet. I wonder if she has a hard time making friends.” 

“Lydia couldn’t help but let out a snort. When Cap and Heather looked at her in surprise she tried to cover it up by clearing her throat. “Her dad is Richard Townsend. He used to be the mayor of New York City? Their family is crazy rich. I don’t think making friends are a problem for her.” 

“Sometimes being rich or having a well-known parent can make it harder to make friends. Whenever I’m in a new place and I know people know who Papa is I can’t help but wonder if there’s a part of them just being nice to me because of who my father is,” Cap explained.

“I never thought about it that way,” Lydia said, thinking over what Cap had just said. “Everyone always talks about how amazing Elliotte is and how they wish they could be good friends with her. But now that you mention it I doubt they’d be saying those things if she didn’t have the connections that she does.”

“I think that’s partly why Cap and I are such good friends even though we live on opposite sides of the country,” Heather said. “We both know what its like to have professional athletes for parents.”

“I say invite Elliotte to join us,” Cap said. “She might just be awkward or shy. Worst case she’s truly rude, but then we wouldn’t want to be friends with her anyways.” 

By now they had reached Heather’s dorm. “I have to finish unpacking,” Heather said. “I’ll ask Elliotte, then we can meet in the common room later for the movie.”

“Sounds good!” Cap called out as she and Lydia headed on down the hall to their room.

Back in the dorm, Lydia finished putting away the rest of her belongings before changing into leggings and a sweatshirt. The movie was supposed to start at 8:00, so at 7:45 Lydia and Cap each grabbed a blanket and made their way down to the common room. The common room had several couches all facing a large television. There were already a few students who had claimed their spots and were laughing and chatting as they munched on snacks. 

“How about this one?” Cap gestured to a brown sofa. “Heather just texted me saying Elliotte is gonna join us, so this should be big enough.”

The couch only had three cushions, but would easily fit the four girls. 

“Sounds good,” Lydia said as she flopped down. She pulled out her phone to see a snapchat from Carter. She opened it to see a video of Caleb, unaware he was being filmed, dancing down the barn aisle and singing along to whatever he was listening to through his earphones. “You’re not missing much,” the snap said, and Lydia laughed. She missed her brothers and their antics even more than she thought she would.

“Hey!” Lydia turned to see Heather enter the common room, followed by Elliotte. Lydia quickly messaged Carter I hope you saved that! before hopping off the couch to greet Heather and Elliotte. 

“Guys, this is my roommate Elliotte, Elliotte this is Cap and Lydia,” Heather quickly made introductions. “Lydia said she knows you!” 

“Oh no, no.” Lydia blushed fiercely. “I’m just on the equestrian team here. I show at Thermal a lot, and I just recognized you. We ran into each other at the stables earlier.” Stop rambling, Lydia told herself. She attempted a smile, hoping to make the situation less awkward. 

“Oh yeah, I think you look familiar,” Elliotte said as she smiled politely down at Lydia. Elliotte was tall, probably 5’9 or 5’10, and she towered over Lydia’s 5’3 frame. Elliotte then turned to shake Cap’s hand. “Your father if Jack Zimmermann, correct? My father is a huge sports fan so I’ve definitely heard that name mentioned a time or two,” Elliotte added with a small laugh. 

“That would be Papa,” Cap grinned back at Elliotte. “Hey, we should sit down. I think they’re gonna start the movie soon.” 

The girls settled down on the couch, Elliotte and Lydia at either end with Cap and Heather between them, just as an RA came in. "Is everyone settled?" the RA asked, and dimmed the lights after receiving an affirmative answer. She went to the laptop connected to the tv and started the movie. 

Lydia did her best to focus on the movie, but she couldn't stop thinking about the encounter with Elliotte. Elliotte clearly was just being polite when she said she recognized Lydia. Did she really not remember Lydia after snapping at her earlier that same day? Did that mean Elliotte was shallow and hadn't felt that Lydia was worth remembering, or was she just bad with faces? 

Everyone suddenly laughed at what was happening on the screen in front of them, so Lydia tried to forget about Elliotte and watch the rest of the movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the horses mentioned are real, but aside from their names and what they look like not much else is true. (And as far as I know, they are all alive and well.)

**Author's Note:**

> I doubt there's anyone else out there who is in both the Phantom Stallion and Check Please fandoms, but hopefully the story will be easy (and entertaining) enough to follow.


End file.
